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Asylum seekers who work illegally should be on ‘next plane home'

Asylum seekers who work illegally should be on ‘next plane home'

The Conservative Party leader and shadow home secretary Chris Philp have proposed a crackdown on illegal working amid fears a 'soft touch' is driving English Channel crossings.
Migrants whose asylum claims are yet to be processed are not generally allowed to work but they can apply for permission to work if they have been waiting a year or longer for a decision.
The Home Office last month struck an agreement with Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats to equip these companies with tools to identify patterns of misuse and riders who are not allowed to work in the UK.
The Government will share the locations of asylum hotels as part of the deal.
But the Conservatives have called for illegal working to become a disqualifier in the asylum process, so that anyone caught is barred from becoming a refugee.
'If you come here illegally, take advantage of our asylum system, and then break our laws by illegally working, your asylum claim must be rejected and you should be on the next plane home,' Mrs Badenoch said.
'Under my leadership, the Conservatives will never allow Britain to become a soft touch for those who think they can break the rules and profit from it.'
She also said that illegal working 'rewards illegality, protects perpetrators and mocks hard-working taxpayers.'
Mr Philp said he had seen riders gathering at a hotel housing asylum seekers, which he described as 'an underground courier cartel operating right under this Government's nose'.
He continued: 'Illegal working is a pull factor sold by smugglers as a reward to break in to our country and cross the Channel.
'That is why we are calling for new action: anyone who plays the system should have their status stripped, wages confiscated, and be deported.'
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has previously said that 'illegal working undermines honest business, exploits vulnerable individuals and fuels organised immigration crime'.
She described the Home Office's data-sharing deal as 'decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement', and added it sat alongside 'a 50% increase in raids and arrests for illegal working'.
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